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Veteran actor Christopher Plummer is responsible for inadvertently helping William Shatner to rise to stardom.

As reported by contactmusic.com, Plummer, best known for his portrayal of Captain von Trapp in The Sound of Music, was sidelined in 1956 when an unexpected injury incurred during a sexual encounter the night before caused him to miss playing his role in Henry V. "I woke up alone the next morning," explained Plummer in his autobiography In Spite of Myself. "...(pain) all around my groin and lower abdomen...I started to whimper like a whipped dog. 'So this is what syphilis is like?' I thought. 'I suppose I deserve it, but Christ, how the hell was I to know?'"

It wasn't syphilis that was causing the pain though, but a dislodged kidney stone. Plummer had to go to the hospital where the troublesome stone was removed with a surgical wire.

Plummer realized that he would be unable to perform that day in Henry V and that his understudy, a fellow Canadian, would have to take his place. "It began to sink in...Shatner, my understudy, would have to go on...(It) instantly brought back the pain. I screamed for a nurse who jabbed me with more morphine. I knew then that the S.O.B was going to be a 'star.'"

Shakespeare would again unite Shatner and Plummer. In Star Trek: The Undiscovered Country, Plummer portrayed General Chang, the Shakespeare-quoting Klingon who sought to destroy James T. Kirk.

Location: In selfless service to fandom, on the road to becoming a Star Trek trivia god...

Re: My Injury Made Shatner A Star

Plummer talks about it in one of the extras on the Special Edition of the TUC DVD (although he left out some key details; he only said he was in the hospital).

The kicker was when people started visiting him in the hospital and told him just how great Shatner was (mainly how he was playing the part completely differently than how Plummer had been doing it), giving Plummer added incentive to get healthy and reclaim his rightful place.

Plummer talks about it in one of the extras on the Special Edition of the TUC DVD (although he left out some key details; he only said he was in the hospital).

The kicker was when people started visiting him in the hospital and told him just how great Shatner was (mainly how he was playing the part completely differently than how Plummer had been doing it), giving Plummer added incentive to get healthy and reclaim his rightful place.

I ... wonder ... if ... Shatner's delivery was ... anything ... like he did on ... Star Trek? The pain! The pain!

How does one make the jump that Plummer would have been Captain Kirk. The only assumption that can be made from this story is that William Shatner would not have been as well known when GR was (re-)casting TREK and he probably would have picked someone else (like Lloyd Bridges).

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"Eccleston was a tiger and Tennant was, well, Tigger. Smith [is] an uncoordinated housecat who pretends that he meant to do that after falling off a piece of furniture." - Lynne M. Thomas

Location: number6 has left the village through some inexpicable hole in the ground to head the corporation.

Re: My Injury Made Shatner A Star

Photoman15 wrote:

How does one make the jump that Plummer would have been Captain Kirk. The only assumption that can be made from this story is that William Shatner would not have been as well known when GR was (re-)casting TREK and he probably would have picked someone else (like Lloyd Bridges).

They were totally ready to sign Christopher Plummer as Captain Kirk, but Plummer had a clause that Shatner had to be his understudy. The night before he had to go and shoot WNMHGB he caught a nasty case of crabs from the key grip's daughter and Shatner got the call. True story. Swear on a hunk of Bibles and such!!